The following description is provided to assist the understanding of the reader. None of the information provided or references cited is admitted to be prior art to the present technology.
Environmental contamination by epoxy resins and bisphenol A, the primary component of most epoxy resins, is an increasing problem. However, the full measure of this problem remains unknown. Epoxy resins are increasingly used to make moldable plastics and numerous consumer products including toys and electronics. Epoxy resins are also incorporated into more substantial goods such as airplane fuselages. Most epoxy resins are made from bisphenol A which is itself produced from the condensation of acetone and phenol. Consequently, the epoxy resins from discarded products that accumulate in landfills can leach bisphenol A, phenol, and other toxins into groundwater and contaminate drinking supplies. There is an increasing need to prevent such environmental accumulation of epoxy resins and bisphenol A.
At present, the extent of environmental contamination by epoxy resins and bisphenol A is unknown because there is not a convenient and inexpensive means to track goods that contain these substances. In particular, the commercial producers of products lack a viable means to determine how much of their products are properly incinerated or recycled and how much of their products are disposed in landfills.